A classic rite of passage from novice gardener to pro is the switch from sun worship to fascination with shade. In the beginning, we think of gardens as flower gardens, the more varied the flower color the better. Time and practice teach us something different. Foliage is important. It is a constant. Flowers bloom and fade, but geenery stays put. And foliage does well in shady places where flowering is sparse.

What we fall for over time is the kind of shade that allows the sun to enter the garden in slivers and splotches that dance with the shadows in a slow waltz that makes the garden feel like a living, breathing and utterly romantic thing. Shade is vastly more forgiving than sun: It smoothes over design flaws, erases pest damage, cools colors and makes dissonant plantings magically cohere.

A surprising number of plants prefer some shade. A few produce finer blossoms, albeit fewer of them. This can be confusing at first, but it provides the special thrill of gardening as you try new combinations, learn from mistakes and figure out a plant’s response to a variety of conditions.

Most shade plants evolved in the woods, where they grew under one or two layers of stems and branches and received their quota of solar power according to how and when the sun passed overhead. Most lists of shade plants are all-inclusive, featuring plants that tolerate dappled light along with those that must have dense shade.

So-called sun plants are variable, too. Some prefer morning sun and can go without from noon onward. I grow roses, junipers and flowering crabapple trees along an east-facing slope. All are labeled as full-sun plants. My house blocks out all direct sun in the afternoon. On the west side, where shade envelops the garden until midafternoon, heuchera is the dominant genus. It’s technically a partial-shade plant, but can handle full sun as long as the weather isn’t too hot and dry. Lady’s mantle, another mainstay of my garden, is the same way. Underground, where it counts, the roots are happy. But what good is that if the leaves are burned to a crisp? I’ve moved most of this species out of full sun.

Several years ago, I visited a hosta farm expecting to be dazzled. I found a farm, all right. The hostas were planted on mounds in long rows. Most appeared to be severely burned or just plain miserable. The manager laughed when he saw the horrified look on my face and insisted he was building stronger root systems and, ultimately, stronger plants this way.

If you grow a plant for foliage, err on the side of more shade. Don’t grow lady’s mantle or hardy geraniums with soft leaves on a boulevard without a shade tree overhead. Do grow lambs ears, artemisia and snow-in-summer (Cerastrium tomentosum). These have an endless appetite for sun. Something in the velvety-smooth pigment protects them from sun damage. Lavendar has skinny gray leaves. So does Russian sage. Catmint foliage is blue-gray and fuzzy. Santolina is a favorite for making low hedges and knot gardens throughout Europe. It’s not hardy here. I grow it as an annual.

Lime-green leaves, on the other hand, signal a preference for a bit of shade. Many such plants are bred just so people who like a particular genus or species can have it even if they don’t have a sunny garden or if they’re wary of the invasiveness that comes with being the genus’ solid-green sun lover. Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) is a notorious spreader. But the cultivar called ‘Aurea,’ because of its color, is far less aggressive.

Such plants have less capacity to make chlorophyll. This is why they’re not a deeper or more consistent shade of green. Generally speaking, plants with leaves that are speckled, striped or chartreuse are relatively slow growing and shade-tolerant.

Another plant I love for its lime-green foliage and moderate growth rate is Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’). There are numerous, stunning lime-green and variegated hostas on the market, as well.

Many woodland plants like their feet wet. Meadowsweet is no different, all except F. vulgaris, a lovely tall plant with leaves shaped a bit like a maple’s and ivory flower spikes that rise from finely fernlike foliage in spring. I noticed about two years after I’d planted the tall white and pale-pink flowering meadowsweet that they always looked good, if not quite as elegant as the meadow rue. But who wants a wuss at the back of the border? Native meadowsweet can grow up to eight feet tall. The best bet for our region is F. rubra because it’s native and spectacular with splendid soft lilac flowers in June. It’s common name is well-earned – Queen of the Prairie.

Bonnie Blodgett publishes the Garden Letter. Her book “Remembering Smell: A Memoir of Losing – and Discovering – the Primal Sense” is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Contact her at bonnie@gardenletter.com.

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